The Bells
by White Moonlight
Summary: Maybe it was what she needed all along to take away her pain... and she died to the sound of the bells.


Summary: They say that you hear the sound of bells before you die. He heard them for her…

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha, or any of its characters.

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She had whispered it so softly, only his demonic hearing allowed him to pick up her words.

"I-If I go… will you kill me?"

Sesshomaru ignored the twinge of annoyance that came with her presumption. If she went… if she _left_… Did she not realize that she could go _nowhere _if he did not wish it?

Better yet, wasn't it obvious that she was going to die anyway?

**The Bells**

_Here the tolling of the bells-_

_Iron bells!_

_What a world of solemn thought their monody foretells!_

Kagome gasped —or rather, tried to— as all her breath left her at the worst possible moment.

_Crack._

'_Was that… my back?'_

Sickened, she swallowed the bile that rose, unbidden, to her throat, and ignored the blazing pain that consumed her upper back.

Kagome was quite sure that there were no trees when she came across the taiyoukai. No, it was an open meadow, decorated with bunches of pink and yellow spring flowers. The day was bright and full of promise, only darkened by the shadows of trees that lay on the _outskirts_ of such a field.

Which led the miko to realize just how far Sesshomaru had flung her.

Very, very far.

Almost as in slow motion, Kagome slumped to the forest floor, frozen in shock, pain, and the worst of all enemies:

Fear.

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_Keeping time, time, time_

_In a sort of Runic rhyme,_

_O the throbbing of the bells-_

He was beside her in a flash.

Before her in a moment.

And she didn't even have the time to breathe.

Wordlessly, Sesshomaru gazed at her coldly as she hacked uncontrollably; head bent, unaware of his very _presence._

The foolish, foolish girl.

She was so graced to be before him, groveling unknowingly and unwillingly as she never would have if she was… _well_. The girl should have been honored to have been sought after for extermination by him; her _death _was a far better fate than _purposely_ standing beside a half-breed, filthy in blood and manner, whose most effective traits were goading others and being useless.

She stood in his way, time and time again. Why, even his arm…

His gaze hardened.

And what was dear Kagome's reward? Rather, _where _was her protector?

Tenderly holding a long dead miko who could not even feelhim.

'_It seems that she has realized this also.' _Sesshomaru mused, and found his suspicions to be correct. Her brown eyes, those defiant eyes that _still _refused to look up at him, were bloodshot and red-rimmed. They were, indeed, hidden behind those silky locks of hair that shielded her eyes so completely from his calculating, golden depths, but nevertheless, the scent of her tears and despair gave her away.

The very smell that attracted him to her in the first place.

She was alone.

Then the realization came so suddenly that he froze in disbelief. The miko stopped him, temporarily at least. It should have been simple, much simpler than this. A healthy dose of acid. A bored flick of his claw. The length of his sword arching… almost stroking her tender flesh…

Sesshomaru did away with that particular thought away as quickly as it came.

'_Their eyes…'_

It was a consensual and undying habit. Humans and demons got in his way, and he then proceeded to cut them down. But if ever he took delight in removing such obstacles, it was in the briefest and tiniest of moments: when his cold eyes took in theirs.

The fear drowning those pitiful, seeing orbs both disgusted him and enticed him to exterminate them quicker, _quicker_ if possible. It tugged… _pulled _at that impossible emotion, the first of many.

Pity.

And yet it made it worth his while.

A hint of cynical amusement touched sunlit eyes, and a ghost of a smirk graced his lips.

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_On the Future! How it tells_

_Of the rapture that impels_

Kagome coughed, only mildly surprised to see tiny drops of blood splay across the ground. It was red… and well, bloody. Not exactly the most welcome sight, but certainly more loving than the shadow that loomed over her menacingly.

_Certainly _a godsend compared to the demon who owned said shadow.

It was all she could do to stop from shaking.

'_Inuyasha…' _

Kagome inwardly balked at the name. Sesshomaru could surely injure her, fatally if he had his way, throw her into _trees_, melt her with acid… really, the possibilities were endless. But as much as her flesh could burn underneath his touch, Inuyasha held the real power.

And this time, he used it _well._

"Are you going to kill me?"

_To the swinging and the ringing_

_Of the bells, bells, bells,_

Silence. Then…

"Hn."

_Hear the loud alarum bells-_

_Brazen bells!_

And in the face of the hold he had over her, Kagome sat motionless like a broken animal, hunted down and beaten thoroughly.

Inuyasha would never let her go. He was much too selfish and afraid for that. And as much as he cared, as much as he _tried _to care for her, he was truly blind to how it hurt her.

Sesshomaru arched an eyebrow as Kagome snapped her head up at him, suddenly trembling. Golden eyes met watery brown ones.

The pain was awful.

"Is that really _all _you have to say? _Really? _You _break _my freaking _back_, and you won't even tell me if you'll end it?" She was angry.

He had her dancing from a tiny, silver thread.

"Hn."

Was it possible for a syllable to hold such amusement?

_They can only shriek, shriek_

_Out of tune,_

The anguish glowed in her tears.

_With a desperate desire,_

_And a resolute endeavor,_

But there was no fear.

Sesshomaru frowned.

And as quickly as he could have slit her throat… as quickly as his clawed hand could have plunged through her ribcage and around her beating heart…

Was as slowly as he stooped down, his eyes level with hers.

His frown deepened as her examined the swirling emotions therein. Pain… despair… anger… sadness… even flickers of surprise danced around her pupils.

But she was not afraid.

The foolish, foolish girl.

_Now-now to sit or never,_

"Miko."

Kagome tensed and waited.

_By the side of the pale-faced moon._

"You do not fear me?

Kagome's mouth fell open a sliver, having managed to hold her jaw at an acceptable elevation. There she was shaking before him, practically awaiting death, and he wanted to make sure that she _feared_ him?

Kagome shot a glare at the crescent moon on his forehead, which was surprising clear due to their proximity.

_Oh, the bells, bells, bells!_

His gaze bore through her.

"You can't hurt me any more than he _already has_," Kagome finally snapped, her eyebrows drawing together in anger.

Stupid crescent moon.

His profile blurred, then cleared again. Kagome realized with a pang of terror that Sesshomaru resumed his previous position, standing over her with a strange expression on his face.

'_It almost looks as if he's… jealous? Wait, huh?'_

She blinked and tried to clear her erring eyes, before risking a glance back at his eerily still form.

A wonderfully, blank face.

"S-Sesshomaru, what…?"

And then the world tilted on its axis.

_In the startled ear of night_

The darkness, in all of its different shades, wavered and shifted before Kagome squeezed her eyes painfully tight.

And then, the nausea hit.

Kagome doubled over and emptied out the unstable contents of her stomach onto the grass. Sesshomaru watched in disgust and slight fascination as Kagome moaned and blinked, bleary eyed and horrified at the considerable amount of blood mixed in with what used to be her breakfast.

And then it hit his nose.

Sesshomaru nearly retched himself.

'_Enough.'_

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Relief flooded her body as slim, cold fingers wrapped themselves around her throat.

_How they scream out their affright!_

His sharp claws pricked the back of her neck, but Kagome couldn't bring herself to care. It was cold, _he _was cold, and the chill spread throughout her whole body, calming her stomach, freezing her heart.

_Finally, _the world righted itself.

She felt her body rise until even her feet dangled in the air. His hold on her throat tightened.

'_He's… choking me.' _Kagome winced, and drew in her last, labored breaths. _'He's killing me.'_

_Too much horrified to speak,_

And yet, Kagome could not ignore or shake the budding emotion at the pit of her empty stomach. She was dying. He was killing her. Her lungs agreed with that much. But the cold numbness that spread throughout her whole body did not come with _death_, it came with _him. _It did not fill her with terror and hatred as she expected it to; rather, it only intensified the rush of relief that she felt when he touched her.

_He was taking her pain away._

But how could he do that? He was heartless, he was cold, he murdered _so _many, without question, but not her. He hesitated, he questioned, he _was amused_. Instead of taking precious time into play, he actually _stayed_. With her.

It was for her death, but the peculiarity in his actions showed a change. What was it?

Kagome has so little time left, and she blinked in the surprise that she spent them thinking about _him_. Nevertheless…

"S-Sesshomaru?" Kagome croaked. His grip tightened again, this time rather painfully.

She felt, rather than saw, his eyes flicker directly into hers, prodding her to speak.

_For every sound that floats_

Her lungs were deflating rapidly; she could not draw in air. Her chest felt as if it was cracking under a huge force, and her heart beat loudly and slowly in her ears.

"Th-" She faltered, then tried again.

"Thank y-"

CRACK.

He dropped her lifeless body to the floor.

_From the rust within their throats_

_Is a groan._

And so very faintly, almost beyond the range of his demonic hearing, he heard the sound of bells.

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Author's Note: Well, here it is! Two days worth of typing; this is the outcome! How is it? Crappy? Brilliant? OoC? A waste of space and time? Mediocre? One of the best things you've read all day?

Please, tell me your reactions! I honestly have no idea if this is overdone, or not enough…

Further disclaimer: I also do not own the snippets of The Bells, a poem by Edgar Allen Poe, that are strewn throughout this fic. So please… don't sue me!


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